![]() Aristotle distinguished non-living and living things (animals and plants), and the organised, living body was the instrument of the soul ( soma organikon) in the same sense that the eye is the instrument of vision (“every organ is for the sake of something or the instrument of something”). ![]() The term organic comes from Greek οργανον, organon, instrument, and has roots going back to Aristotle (384–322 BC). In this Perspective, the origins of organic chemistry and the words organic and inorganic, which in fact have had somewhat different meanings over time, are traced chronologically. Therefore, students may not acquire a clear understanding of why the subject is actually called “Organic Chemistry”, and those who profess it organic chemists. Berthelot's syntheses of non-natural fats in 1853 started modern synthetic organic chemistry as the chemistry of carbon compounds, regardless of whether occurring in Nature or not.Ĭonsidering the enormous breath of the subject, 1 it is not common for chemistry educators to cover the history of organic chemistry in any depth due to time limitations, and textbooks do not devote much space to it. The concept of organic chemistry changed radically when Wöhler and Kolbe prepared organic compounds from the elements. Descartes’ dictum that synthesis is required to prove an analysis was enacted by Bergman and others. Lavoisier invented and Berzelius improved combustion analysis for organic characterization. ![]() In the late 1700s and early 1800s, organic natural products were isolated by Scheele, and Chevreuil separated carboxylic acids from saponification of fats. Buffon, Bergman and Gren defined organic bodies as living things in the 1700s, but discrete organic compounds remained unknown. The iatrochemists prepared numerous pharmaceutical remedies in the 1600s but had no concept of organic chemistry. The words organic and synthesis originate with Aristotle (meaning ‘instrumental’ and ‘put together’, respectively) but had different meanings over time. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |